Kim McGinnis, PhD

Kim McGinnis, PhD, served as judge for the Pueblo of Pojoaque from 2013-2023.Dr. McGinnis was trained as a neuroscientist before becoming an attorney, earning a Ph.D. in neuropharmacology from the University of Michigan in 1999. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Molecular Neurogenetics Unit before graduating from Boston University School of Law in 2004. Dr. McGinnis clerked at the Michigan Court of Appeals and then joined Detroit Legal Aid and Defenders as a felony-level public defender. In 2008, she became an assistant appellate defender with the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office. In 2011, Dr. McGinnis moved to Taos, New Mexico and practiced domestic relations law, primarily representing survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in state and tribal courts. The Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Council appointed her associate judge in 2013 and chief judge in 2015. Dr. McGinnis served as the treatment court judge and as project director for Pojoaque’s Sober Living/Re-Entry Project. She now works for Community Against Violence in Taos, NM, providing pro bono representation for survivors of domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, and sexual assault. Dr. McGinnis trains judges and court personnel nationally on the effects of trauma and substance misuse on the brain. She is a faculty member for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, National Judicial College, and All Rise (formerly the National Association of Drug Court Professionals).